Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 31

31. Nemesis on a Narrow Bridge (5)

Bang, crack! Xuanwu’s fists slammed into Kirson’s jaw and cheek in rapid succession. The moment the blow landed on his solar plexus, Kirson’s senses swam, and he staggered back.

Xuanwu’s hand held the sharp stinger of a Hell Mosquito. Naturally, its tip was coated with Xuanwu’s own blood.

Xuanwu’s fist, laced with poison and potent energy, turned Kirson’s insides into a mangled mess. It was far more deadly than any clumsily wielded blade.

Kirson tried to block, but once the first blow landed, regaining his footing proved difficult.

Until now, Kirson had never allowed Xuanwu a single clean hit. A hand imbued with strong energy could be dangerous even to him.

One question plagued his mind.

‘How could he have become so strong in such a short time?’

But Kirson’s assessment was flawed.

It wasn’t that Xuanwu had become stronger, but that Kirson was underestimating Xuanwu’s true strength.

More accurately, Xuanwu had manipulated him into thinking that way.

Xuanwu’s strategy in dealing with Kirson was simple: familiarity. To make their encounters routine, habitual.

Kirson, the overwhelming powerhouse, saw no reason to hide his strength from Xuanwu.

While being repeatedly killed, Xuanwu gathered information. Simultaneously, he fed Kirson false information with each death.

Conscious mistakes and ingrained habits.

This led Kirson to aim for the wrong openings, attempting to subdue him easily. He underestimated Xuanwu’s abilities by a good 30%.

He further clouded Kirson’s judgment by provoking his anger. The moment Kirson broke his arm, Xuanwu knew his strategy had succeeded.

[Health has fallen below 10%. Regeneration begins with the ‘Last Man Standing’ title perk.]

From that moment, Xuanwu was ready to counterattack.

Xuanwu, who had injured himself even before Kirson attacked, timed his actions perfectly, allowing him to recover his broken arm. He anticipated having enough time to heal.

Kirson’s mistake was focusing on killing Xuanwu as efficiently and swiftly as possible.

Because of this, he failed to notice Xuanwu’s ‘Last Man Standing’ perk and remained convinced that Xuanwu was incapacitated.

“Kugh, Gyaak!”

Kirson struggled to escape the relentless beating.

However, the wildly swinging blade couldn’t touch Xuanwu, who was now intimately familiar with Kirson’s movements.

As time wore on, Kirson’s body began to break down. His face was crushed and mangled, as if pounded with a pestle.

Kirson felt his life slipping away. The fear of death washed over him. It was a common occurrence in this world, but he never imagined he would be defeated by a human like this.

“S-Sto, Kiruk, Stop!”

Bang! Xuanwu ignored his pleas and landed another blow. The goblin, struck in the lungs, gasped and collapsed to the floor.

Blood, forced up from his stomach as if his internal organs were ruptured, pooled on the ground. Xuanwu was also covered in wounds, but they were insignificant compared to the goblin’s.

“Kick, Kiruk. Th-This, human, I, I lost.”

Kirson spat out the words with bloodied difficulty.

“Ha, but, Kkiek. I must not die. Kiruk.”

“Even now, you’re still saying that?”

Xuanwu snorted, breathing heavily. He had been running the Battle Helper [an ability that enhances combat prowess] until he felt Kirson was completely subdued, leaving his body aching and craving mana.

Xuanwu removed his gauntlet, intending to force-feed Kirson the poison. There was already a generous amount of poisonous blood coating the inside.

“M-My family, Kiruk. You said you didn’t want to kill them, right?”

“I did say something along those lines.”

“I, If I die, Kkiek, not only my family, Kiruk, but our villagers who lost their homes will all die. Without me, there’s no way to survive here. They can’t live on their own. As those who have not received grace…….”

“…….”

At Kirson’s words, Xuanwu quietly looked down, lost in thought.

“If I kill you, all the villagers will die?”

Xuanwu asked softly.

“Th-That’s right. Human! Since they lost their village, they’ll all wander and die!”

“Really?”

Xuanwu looked down at Kirson with expectant eyes and said.

“Then do I get their experience points too?”

***

[Red Cap Goblin (LV 21) has been defeated]

[Rewards are increased due to difficulty compensation compared to level.]

[Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!]

[Quest Successful!]

[The quest ‘Nemesis on a Narrow Bridge’ has been successfully completed.]

[One ‘Silver Box’ is provided as a reward.]

[One ‘Silver Box’ changes to one ‘Gold Box’.]

[The Return Stone is activated until the next quest.]

[Time remaining until the next quest: 21 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.]

[The Shattering Star, Gaul, is watching you.]

[The Star of Death, Verd, is watching you.]

With Kirson’s demise, a quest completion notification chimed. Xuanwu was surprised by the three consecutive level-up messages. It was the first time he had leveled up so many times from a single kill.

‘Is there bonus experience for revenge or something?’

He doubted he would have received experience points if other goblins had died.

Xuanwu knew this world wasn’t that generous. Regardless, the level-up messages were a welcome surprise.

Xuanwu looked at the Return Stone [a device that allows players to return to a safe location] with relief. It was shining once more. He longed to return home and wash away the grime, but he still had tasks to complete. Before anything else, Xuanwu pulled a caramel from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.

The caramel’s sweetness melted thickly and satisfyingly. The sugar coursing through his body, stiff from the intense battle, was the perfect remedy.

Xuanwu began by thoroughly searching Kirson’s body for anything useful.

Like the equipment used by the other goblins, there was nothing Xuanwu could wear. However, the potions in the leather pouch seemed promising.

[Enhanced Acid Potion (Rare)]

[Superior Health Recovery Potion (Common)]

‘Superior Potion, huh.’

In this world, potions were practically panaceas [a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases].

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they could save your life from fatal injuries, even reattaching severed wounds if they weren’t too old.

Pharmaceutical companies were spending fortunes trying to replicate potions, but they had never succeeded.

The only supply came from hunters who brought them back from dungeons, driving the price sky-high. Hunters were reluctant to sell them, as they were essential for survival.

Most potions were of lower or middle grade, making superior-grade potions rare enough to be reported and sold at Sotheby’s auction house upon discovery.

Having been hit by enhanced acid potions a few times, Xuanwu knew their effects firsthand. Fortunately, the effect was potent, minimizing the duration of the pain.

Xuanwu placed the two potions in his inventory. Then, he spotted a dagger lying on the floor.

[Black Hand Dagger (Legendary): A dagger that can be concealed in your hand and drawn at any time. Increases speed slightly upon deployment.]

“Huh, geez. Do even roadside monsters carry legendary weapons?”

Was this his third legendary item? Still, he felt a surge of satisfaction at acquiring a weapon for the first time.

However, the speed-boosting effect seemed somewhat underwhelming. Aside from that, it seemed no different from retrieving an item from his inventory.

But Xuanwu changed his mind after testing it.

The inventory required opening, searching, and retrieving, while this dagger appeared in his hand the moment he willed it.

He could wield it instantly, without warning.

He wasn’t skilled with daggers, but he stored it in his inventory for now. Xuanwu primarily relied on his fists due to Battle Helper and strong energy, but also because he lacked a decent weapon.

A wooden stick would break after a few hits against goblins.

‘Should I learn dagger skills?’

“Butler!”

He heard Lenian approaching, her wings fluttering.

“Is the fight over? The goblins who were following have already fled far away.”

Lenian had been assigned to patrol. She was of little help in the fight, and from a distance, she could easily be mistaken for a mosquito, so hiding was a suitable task. Xuanwu pointed to Kirson’s body.

“Eat it if you want.”

“I’m already full.”

Lenian said, patting her stomach. There were plenty of opportunities to feast, with fresh goblin corpses scattered everywhere. But Lenian smiled at Xuanwu.

“Of course, I saved a little room to drink Butler’s blood.”

“What’s so appealing about my blood?”

“Hmm, is it the slightly strong acidity and pungent taste?”

He decided to remain silent. Xuanwu ignored Lenian and continued searching Kirson’s body.

“What are you looking for?”

“I still haven’t figured out why this guy was so strong.”

There was still something he didn’t understand. Xuanwu was certain of it.

He was an opponent he couldn’t have defeated if he hadn’t taken so many lives and lowered his guard, even though he ultimately fell after taking a hit.

Now that he had won, he intended to thoroughly analyze him. Even if it meant dissecting him.

“Isn’t it because of that dagger? It looked like a pretty good item.”

Lenian asked, puzzled.

“Maybe. But this guy was strong even without holding a dagger.”

Legendary weapons were so powerful that many hunters were willing to risk their lives for them. Only top-ranked hunters were typically allowed to possess them.

It seemed that even a level 20 named monster could carry one, but still, Kirson wasn’t the type to rely solely on weapons. There had to be another reason for his strength.

As he wondered if he should use the disassembly skill, Xuanwu suddenly noticed Kirson’s left hand. It was particularly black, unlike the other goblins.

Xuanwu examined the hand closely and realized that the blackness wasn’t natural, but rather countless tiny letters were engraved on it.

Like his Return Stone and the pattern engraved on his right hand.

[The Shattering Star, Gaul, guides your touch.]

Xuanwu reached out his hand as if guided by an unknown force.

At that moment, he saw the letters on Kirson’s black left hand rise like smoke.

Xuanwu was startled and tried to pull his hand away, but the smoke had already enveloped it. He felt a stinging pain in the palm of his right hand.

It felt like being pricked with thousands of needles. He watched in horror as the letters were engraved as if tattooing.

The same pattern he had seen on Kirson’s left hand covered his palm in an instant. But unlike Kirson’s, it was a faint gray color.

“What is this……?”

[Absorbed a fragment of the Shattering Star, Gaul.]

[Acquired the Affiliated (Legendary) skill.]